Happy October fellow Collegiates! As the month of October quietly sneaks up on us, Torontonians everywhere are reminded that with the first week of the month comes the ever so popular all-night art festival; Nuit Blanche. For those of you out-of-towners, this translated White Night (or all-nighter in French colloquialism) is an exhibition of contemporary art in the form of a giant street festival. The exhibitions are incredible, and surely will lure you away from whatever is playing on Netflix. Starting in 2006, every first week of October, the festival has been responsible for bringing the contemporary art world en masses to the public. As a vehicle to open dialogue between the public and contemporary art outside of academic, both artists from all over the world are exhibited, major and local. In 2010, Toronto’s Eaton Centre even had its own Jeff Koon’s silver bunny floating overhead the bustling attendees.
So as I trekked along with what seemed like the thousands of other Torontonians, art enthusiasts, and gallery-goers, I was able to experience the following interesting exhibitions.
Dress Rehearsal, 2014 (Performance Anxiety)
Performance Art
Tor Lukasik-Foss – Hamilton, Canada
Starting at the Toronto City Hall, venue for performance art for the night titled Performance Anxiety. The city hall skating rink and quad had been transformed into a giant stage facilitating different exhibitions. This particular performance caught my eye as it was the source of a harsh-sounding sax being played badly. Dissonant notes were being played intentionally as to show off the creative rehearsing process of the solo piece. I couldn’t help but to wonder if the performer was also anxious himself.
Bonus Art points for the night goes to the Henry Moore Statue sitting majestically in the center of the City Hall Quad.
Coalesce, 2014 (#63)
Installation
Lizz Aston – Toronto, Canada
Migrating down Queen St. West with the hoards of other attendees, I was mesmerized by the H&M window display. Coincidentally enough, it was an installation piece by the Canadian artist Lizz Aston! The 3 stories tall installation piece appeared to be a giant paper cut, illuminated by different blue hued lights. But as I read the artistic statement, it was interesting to find out that the piece was actually made by recycled materials from the H&M Garment Collecting Initiative. The piece aimed to explore the cause and effect relationship of the interconnected clothing manufacturing, trade, and commercial industry.
Gap Ecology (Still Lives with Cherry Pickers and Palms), 2014 (#58)
Sculpture
David Brooks – New York City, U.S.A.
Probably one of my favorite exhibitions of the night, an exhibition so engrossing that it transformed the landscape between Queen St. West and John. This piece included what appeared to be palm trees resting on their own platforms of cherry pickers at various heights. With a view of the night sky that represented the constant environmental, infrastructural changes in our surroundings, Brooks also raises questions about the environment and the economy. My favorite aspect about the piece was also the fact that it denoted Toronto as the urban concrete jungle of Canada.
What was your favorite contemporary art piece of the night? Did any of you collegiates manage to stay out until 6 in the morning? Leave a comment down below, and tell us about your Nuit Blanche art adventures!